Vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, and the like include lights and/or lighting elements in a number of different locations and for a number of different reasons. For example, vehicles typically include headlights, taillights, rear brake lights, center high-mount stop lamps (CHMSLs), fog lights or running lights, etc. Front and rear left/right turn indicators (blinkers) are commonly required in most automotive vehicles, and supplemental blinkers are now often included on side mirrors. School busses oftentimes incorporate white flashing lights on their roofs, as well as red flashing lights on extendible stop signs.
Emergency vehicles also include recognizable external lights. In the United States, for example, it is common for federal, state, and local law enforcement vehicles to include red, white, and/or blue lights that are actuatable in case of emergency. Ambulances often include red and white lights. Parking enforcement personnel, park police, and others oftentimes have yellow flashing lights.
Safety and protection vehicles (e.g., emergency vehicles) in the past have had bar-mounted and/or dome-shaped lighting mounted externally to these vehicles' roofs. Recently, however, there has been a trend away from this more “traditional” bar and/or dome lighting. Indeed, glass-mounted (e.g., front and/or rear windshield mounted) safety and protection lighting is now quite often preferred to the more traditional lighting arrangements. The trend toward such newer arrangements oftentimes enables safety and protection vehicles to better blend in with surrounding traffic, and frequently provides a more sleek and modern look compared to the traditional arrangements.
Current glass-mounted safety and protection lighting is mounted to the innermost surface of the glass glazing (e.g., on an interior surface of the front windshield and in the cabin of a police cruiser, or the like). Unfortunately, however, this mounting arrangement reduces the effective luminous intensity (e.g., candela) of the internal lighting, as a result of the reflection and absorption characteristics of the glazing to which it is mounted. In addition, this mounting approach can create primary and secondary reflective light patterns in the vehicle, which can be distracting and sometimes even dangerous. Shrouding oftentimes is used to help compensate for the reflective light, but the use of shrouding unfortunately limits the viewing area of the glazing.
It might be possible to improve glass-mounted safety and protection lighting arrangements by removing the frit provided to the internal glass around the edges (including the upper and/or lower edges). Doing so would allow high-power light sources to shine through the glass. Although this approach could reduce the amount of area covered up by the lighting arrangement, it unfortunately would not provide a fully effective solution for handling the reflected light.
Thus, it will be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide improved glass-mounted safety and protection lighting arrangements that overcome these and/or other disadvantages. For example, it will be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide improved glass-mounted safety and protection lighting arrangements that have high candela output, reduced internal reflections, and/or the like.
One aspect of certain example embodiments of this invention relates to encapsulation-embedded exterior-facing light sets for vehicles, and/or methods of making the same.
Another aspect of certain example embodiments of this invention relates to light emitting diode (LED) and/or other lighting elements encapsulated/molded to the exterior of glass glazings for safety and protection vehicle lighting used in connection with safety and protection vehicles.
Another aspect of certain example embodiments of this invention relates to having embedded wires encapsulated within a molding on a glass glazing to supply power and/or data to interchangeable and fixed exterior mounted lighting, sensors, and/or the like.
Certain example embodiments relate to an encapsulation-embedded exterior-facing light set system for a safety and/or protection vehicle comprising a main body portion. Wire guides are embedded in, and located along a channel of, the main body portion. Pockets are formed in the main body portion. Removable light sources are located in the pockets. A power cable is fed through the wire guides and through the channel of the main body portion, and is operably connected to the light sources. A groove is shaped and arranged to receive a windshield of the safety and/or protection vehicle such that, when the groove receives the windshield and the windshield is installed in the vehicle, the pockets and the light sources are external to the vehicle.
Certain example embodiments relate to a molding comprising a main body portion. Outward-facing pockets are formed in the main body portion, with the pockets being sized, shaped, and arranged to accommodate a plurality of removable light sources. Wire guides are located along a channel formed in the main body portion, with the channel being sized, shaped, and arranged to accommodate a power and/or data wire(s). A groove is sized, shaped, and arranged to receive a windshield of a vehicle such that the pockets are external to the vehicle.
Certain example embodiments relate to a method of making an encapsulation-embedded exterior-facing light set system for a vehicle, the method comprising: forming a main body portion including a plurality of outward-facing pockets formed therein, the pockets being sized, shaped, and arranged to accommodate a plurality of removable light sources; locating a plurality of wire guides along a channel formed in the main body portion, the channel being sized, shaped, and arranged to accommodate a power and/or data wire(s); and forming in the main body portion a groove sized, shaped, and arranged to receive a windshield of the vehicle in an orientation where the pockets are external to the vehicle. The method may further comprise, in certain example embodiments, feeding a power cable through the wire guides and through the channel of the main body portion; locating a plurality of removable light sources in the pockets; and connecting the power cable to the light sources.
Methods for using and/or configuring these and/or other systems also are contemplated herein.
The features, aspects, advantages, and example embodiments described herein may be combined to realize yet further embodiments.